As the most anticipated weekend for retail after Christmas – Easter Weekend – arrives, retail intelligence specialist Springboard today forecast footfall across UK high streets, shopping centres and retail parks is set to increase by 4.7% year on year over the long weekend (3 April, 4 April and 6 April).
Easter is two weeks earlier than in 2014 and dissimilarly from last year, falls immediately following a national pay day putting consumers in a strong position of disposable income and tempted to spend over the weekend.
Consumer confidence has grown overall due to lower inflation and with a decline in fuel prices and evidence of pay rises across the country, though still modest, the difference could leave households up to £20 to £30 per month better off.
High streets across the UK are predicted to fare the best over the Easter Weekend, with Springboard forecasting a +6% YOY rise in footfall over the three key shopping days as the fine, yet cool, weather continues. Shopping centres will follow, with footfall expected to increase +4.6% YOY as shoppers start to shop for their spring wardrobes and retail parks will also see minor growth of +1.6% YOY.
Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard commented; “Last year we saw a significant decline in retail footfall over Easter Weekend (down 6.4% YOY), and though this year we are expecting to see figures regain strength, they will still be overall below the 6.9% YOY growth seen in 2013. The earlier dates for the long weekend traditionally link to positive effects for retailers and with consumer confidence high, we expect shoppers to respond with their feet buoyed by the benefit of a recent pay day.”
Good Friday is set to be the strongest day for footfall with 5.7% YOY growth forecast across retail destinations as shoppers take advantage of the extra day off at the end of the week. It is predicted that Saturday will see further growth of 3.9% YOY and Easter Monday will see the typical bank holiday surge with footfall expected to grow 4.6% YOY.
